Festivals of India — Let’s Bond over Raksha Bandhan
A tribute to the bond of love between siblings.
India is the quintessential land of festivals. The full moon day in the Indian month of Shravana is celebrated all over India and by countless Indians across the globe as Raksha Bandhan (‘Raksha’ means protection and ‘Bandhan’ means a bond, literally translating to a ‘bond of protection’). Let’s find out why.
Indra’s War
A sense of dread and apprehension filled Indra’s heart to the very brim. The intense battle between the Gods and the Asuras (demons) had perpetuated for more than a decade-twelve years to be precise. Alas, Indra lost the battle and his capital city of Amravati to the evil forces of the demons. Indra, the God of War himself. Indra, the God of Gods, of the heavens, of lightning and thunderstorms, of rivers and rain. Indra, the great!
Beset with misfortunes, he approached the one he could always turn to; his Guru (lit. spiritual teacher, translates to “dispeller of darkness” from gu, “darkness,” and ru, “that which dispels” from Sanskrit).
Indra pleaded with his Guru, Brihaspati, for counsel. Brihaspati advised performing a ritual of Raksha Vidhan (lit. statute of protection). On the day of Purnima in the month of Shravana, Brihaspati performed the said…
